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Pope Celestine VI
Pope Celestine VI, born Giuseppe Borgia, is the reigning Pope of the Catholic Church. Life Early years Giuseppe Borgia was born in Milan in 1467 into the wealthy, influential and established Borgia family. A relative of Pope Alexander VI, he was tutored in the Vatican at the Pope's behest along with his brothers, among whom included Cardinal Markus Borgia. He was ordained to the priesthood, living comfortably in his rectories in both Milan and Rome; and appointed Cardinal in December 1502 at age 35, at Alexander VI's last consistory, which took place weeks before Alexander's death in January 1503. As a Cardinal At the lengthy papal conclave, Cardinal Giuseppe chose not to make public any intentions towards the Papacy, instead choosing to actively endorse Cardinal Erasmus, condemning others who held up the conclave. Eventually, other papal candidacies lost support, and Erasmus succeeded, becoming Pope Felix V. During the pontificate of Felix V, Giuseppe attempted, but failed, to establish a Crusading order, for at this time the Empire was in no state to wage foreign wars. Turning to imperial politics, Giuseppe quickly affiliated himself with the Obscurian League, joining Milan to the League without hesitation. As ruler of Milan, Cardinal Giuseppe instituted a militia known as Militia Deus, or "God's Militia", in order to suppress heresy and to satisfy his crusading ambitions within his own borders. As Milan joined the Obscurian League, the war with France began, and Milan was in danger of occupation. For his own safety, Cardinal Giuseppe fled Milan in September 1506, seeking the safety of the imperial city of Obscuria, far from the northern Italian conflicts. No sooner had the Cardinal arrived in Obscuria that the Battle of Rome ended French intrusion into Italy, crippling the Kingdom of France. Milan, unharmed from the war, expected the return of its Cardinal, but instead, Pope Felix V died, and Cardinal Giuseppe was summoned to Rome for "another maddening show" as he termed the conclave. Election and Early Papacy During the conclave, in which many cardinals did not show (consequently, Cardinal Markus Borgia excommunicated them) Cardinal Giuseppe made his ambitions clear, suggesting that the Fifth Lateran Council be called anyway, in spite of Felix V's death. Moreover, he promised crusade against the Turks. A rump College of three cardinals elected Giuseppe unanimously on the second ballot, on September 23, 1507. Giuseppe accepted his election and took the name of Celestine, becoming the sixth of that name. Cardinal Markus Borgia announced Giuseppe's election to the people of Rome, introducing Celestine VI to the people and crowning him with the papal tiara. Celestine immediately called a Crusade, writing Emperor Francis to encourage him to join the Empire into this initiative. Francis, initially hesitant, declined, but the momentum of numerous imperial states led the Empire itself, as well as Spain, to eventually join this Crusade. Conflicts with Antipopes In 1507, a man claiming to be Cardinal Markus Borgia appeared on the balcony of the Florentine palace, "excommunicating" Celestine VI as a heretic and declaring himself Pope Alexander VII. Guards sent by Cardinal Markus threw the man from the balcony, killing him, and Cardinal Markus appeared, exposing the imposter in the sight of the people. Nevertheless, word spread throughout Italy that Cardinal Markus was setting himself up as antipope, and the King of Spain declared war on Florence; the Pope excommunicated Cardinal Markus, believing the story to be true, and adding to the confusion, the excommunicated former Cardinal Mason declared himself to be Pope, excommunicating the imposter as well as Celestine VI. In the confusion, Cardinal Markus Borgia, his brother, was summoned to Rome, at the urging of the Emperor and by the command of the Pope. En route, he was captured and arrested, brought before the Pope, and after a bitter argument, Cardinal Markus was jailed. Subsequently, the antipope, Cardinal Mason, who called himself Pope Thomas, was arrested almost immediately, brought to Rome, repented, received absolution, and burned at the stake. After the jailing of Cardinal Markus Borgia, Prince Medici, a claimant to Florence, was able to take power in Florence with the favour of the Pope, ending Borgia rule over Florence. Order Celestine's desire for a militant order was fulfilled with the help of Emperor Francis von Habsburg, who took more kindly to the Pope after his shrewd elimination of the antipapal situation and of the change of power in Florence. The Order of St. Peter was founded within a year of the beginning of the Pontificate, with the intention of suppressing heretical sentiments that had begun to increase in the Empire with the passing of time. Cardinal Markus and the Tenth Crusade The Tenth Crusade in its grandeur, distracted the Church from calling the Fifth Lateran Council, and the idea was not brought up anymore. The Crusade became the chief initiative of the pontiff: and after the successful handling of the antipapal situation, many believed the Pope could effectively organise a Crusade, and he did. Cardinal Markus Borgia was released from prison in March 1508, citing the misunderstanding, and subsequently given the order to crusade for the Holy Land. Meanwhile, armies from Spain and from across the Empire were already well on their way. The Crusade was successful: Cardinal Markus' army of 10,000 held the siege of Jerusalem long enough for Spanish support to arrive, sustaining many casualties in the meantime. The success of the Crusade increased the prestige of the Papacy, and included the recapture of Constantinople in addition to most of the former Kingdom of Jerusalem, which at the behest of the Pope, was revived by the King of Spain. Other affairs While the Tenth Crusade was going on, the Pope met with the German heresiarch Martin Luther, attempting to reach a satisfactory conclusion to his complaints. Neither the Pope nor Luther agreed, and to the surprise of all, Luther was freed to leave Rome, and given safe passage out of the city.